Reading Between the Lines of the Miami Dolphins

Dolphins Suddenly Find Life in December

Dolphins Suddenly Find Life in December

The jinx is on for anyone who mentions Dolphins and playoffs in the same sentence. It all hinges on winning the next 3 games, (plus needing some help). And by the time we start to unravel all the playoff scenarios, the Dolphins will probably lose to the Bills Sunday and end all speculation. So forgive me if I’m not too excited yet.

But I am excited. Beating New England showed that we have some spark and some talent on this team. Beating them rather handily furthers the point. And think about this:

If Julia Thomas didn’t fumble a ball in the open field with nobody around her, we’d probably be at 41 points, or at least 37.

If not for a bullshit p.i. call on Xavien Howard at the goal line (he was facemasked by the WR, and X never touched the man), the Pats would be at only 13 points.

We had the potential to win this game 41-13. The Dolphins can’t control the refs, but they can control unforced errors that cost us major points. This doesn’t even include the first play of the game, when DeVante Parker dropped yet another easy pass.

After analyzing the Pats game, I must point out that for the 2nd week in a row, our opponent didn’t have much of a pass rush. NE rushed 3 men a lot, and Denver did the same the week before. I don’t think the Bills will be that stubborn, Look for them to come at Cutler with a lot more men in a lot different formations. Our O-line and Cutler had it easy the past 2 games, and I guarantee you that will change. In addition, the Pats and Broncos didn’t rush much, and that was good for us.

Look for the Bills to run the ball a ton more. They’re not stupid. The Bills know that Tyrod Taylor isn’t an NFL-level QB, so expect them to hand off to Lesaun McCoy A LOT. Our runn defense hasn’t been tested for three weeks, so expect the worst Sunday. If Taylor can’t play, then the running plays will be even more frequent. Will the Dolphins be ready?

Adam Gase has never lost to the Bills, but both games last year were close. I’m hoping he keeps the offense creative, because that is winning games for him recently. Now if only he would bench DeVante and Julia and call a QB sneak on 3rd an inches, I’d shut up and praise him now and then!

I said a few weeks ago that Drake was the answer for RB, and I’m glad to see that he has taken that job for his own. He’s got all the tools to be a great back, and with every week he gets to start he gets better and better. No matter how this season ends for us, dominating the Pats on Monday Night was a tasty treat.

Drake has indeed excelled, and it’s great to see him doing so each week. I saw that last year when he had some explosive runs and thought that he’d be a great 1-2 punch with Ajayi. Just because Adam Gase saw the greatness of Drake is still no reason to get rid of Ajayi. Keep them both. Put them in the same backfield on certain plays and watch the defense sweat it out as they try to figure who’s gonna get the ball. You don’t throw away an excellent player just because you have 2 excellent players. I hope Drake keeps it up for three more games!